1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for recovering hydrocarbons from a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation penetrated by an injection well and a production well wherein a drive fluid such as water thickened with a copolymer of acrylamide and vinyl sulfonic acid or the sodium salts thereof or with a copolymer of acrylamide and styrene sulfonic acid or salts as well as these same copolymers alkoxylated with an alkylene oxide, potassium or ammonium salt thereof is utilized to displace hydrocarbons in the formation toward a production well. The drive fluid employed can be saturated with carbon dioxide, nitrogen or natural gas or mixtures thereof.
2. Prior Art
The production of petroleum products is usually accomplished by drilling into a hydrocarbon-bearing formation and utilizing one of the well-known recovery methods for the recovery of hydrocarbons. However, it is recognized that these primary recovery techniques may recover only a minor portion of the petroleum products present in the formation particularly when applied to reservoirs of viscous crudes. Even the use of improved recovery practices involving heating, miscible flooding, water flooding and steam processing may still leave up to 70-80 percent of the original hydrocarbons in place.
Thus, many large reserves of petroleum fluids from which only small recoveries have been realized by present commercial recovery methods are yet to reach a potential recovery approaching their estimated oil-in-place.
Water flooding is one of the more widely practiced secondary recovery methods. A successful water flood may result in recovery of 30-50 percent of the original hydrocarbons left in place. However, generally the application of water flooding to many crudes results in much lower recoveries.
The newer development in recovery methods for heavy crudes is the use of steam injection which has been applied in several modifications, including the "push-pull" technique and through-put methods, and had resulted in significant recoveries in some areas. Crude recovery of this process is enhanced through the beneficial effects of the drastic viscosity reduction that accompanies an increase in temperature. This reduction in viscosity facilitates the production of hydrocarbons since it improves their mobility, i.e., it increases their ability to flow.
However, the application of these secondary recovery techniques to depleted formations may leave major quantities of oil-in-place, since the crude is tightly bound to the sand particles of the formation, that is, the sorptive capacity of the sand for the crude is great. In addition, interfacial tension between the immiscible phases results in entrapping crude in the pores, thereby reducing recovery. Another disadvantage is the tendency of the aqueous drive fluid to finger, since its viscosity is considerably less than that of the crude, thereby reducing the efficiency of the processes. Another disadvantage is the tendency of the aqueous drive fluid to remove additional gas by diffusion from the in-place oil thus further reducing the already lowered formation oil volume and increasing the viscosity of the oil.
There is a definite need in the art for a water flooding process in which the disadvantages discussed above are largely eliminated or avoided.